Handbook of Nature-Study · Lesson CCV · Topic 31: Flowering shrubs and small trees
205. The dogwood
Goal: Your child can show that the dogwood's "petals" are really bracts around a cluster of tiny true flowers.
You'll need
- A dogwood branch in flower, with some unopened buds
- A hand lens (magnifying glass)
- A nature notebook and a pencil (colored pencils if you have them)
What's in the book
The lesson has a leading thought and seven observations: the tiny flowers at the center, the four big white bracts with notched tips, how they are arranged, the young leaves, and the fruit and autumn color.
The lesson, step by step
When and where
Late April or May, when dogwoods bloom at the edges of woods and in yards. Bring in one branch that still has some unopened flower heads. Ask before cutting.
The leading thought
The petals are not the only means of attracting insects to the flowers. Sometimes other parts of the plant are made into banners to show insects where the nectar is to be found.
The true flowers
What is there at the center of the dogwood flower? How do the parts at the center look? Are they of the same shape? Are some opened and others not?
Pick out one tiny flower with your fingernails or tweezers and look with the lens. Count its petals and stamens.
The banners
How many of these flowers are there at the center of the dogwood "blossom?" What color are they? Would they show off much if it were not for the great white banners around them?
The notch
What is there peculiar about each one of these white bracts. Why should this notch be there?
Look at an unopened head. What covers it?
Nature notebook
Draw the "blossom" with its four bracts and tiny flowers in the middle, then one tiny flower large. In the fall, come back to draw the red berries (for birds, not people).
Answers to the book's problems
The center holds a cluster of about twenty tiny greenish-yellow flowers, each with four petals, four stamens and a pistil. The four white "petals" are bracts. In winter they were the scales wrapping the flower bud, and the brown notch at each tip is the end that was exposed all winter.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.